Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Mark Miller announced today that the Governme of Canada is capping iernational stude permit applications for a two-year period to stabilize new growth. For 2024, this cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a 35 perce decrease from 2023. In keeping with the spirit of fairness, provincial and regional limits have been determined by population, which will result in much more. It decreases in the provinces where the population of iernational studes has had the most unstable growth. The extension of the study permit will not be effective. Those who are studying in master's and doctoral degrees and primary and secondary education are not included in this ceiling. Curre study permit holders are not affected.
IRCC will allocate a portion of the cap to each province and territory, which will then distribute the allocation among its designated educational institutions. To impleme the cap, starting January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to IRCC will also need a certificate from a province or territory. Provinces and regions are expected to create a process for issuing certificates for studes by March 31, 2024 at the latest.
These temporary measures will be implemeed for two years and the number of new study permit applications accepted in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of this year. During this period, the Governme of Canada will work with provinces and territories, designated educational institutions and national education stakeholders to create a sustainable path forward for iernational studes, including finalizing the Recognized Institution Framework, establishing long-term sustainable levels of stude enrollme between Iernational will coinue. and ensuring that postgraduate institutions are able to provide appropriate levels of stude accommodation.
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Also, from September 1, 2024, the Canadian governme has decided to make extensive changes in its immigration and education policy. Under these changes, iernational studes who begin their degree program will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon graduation. This decision applies to curriculum licensing agreemes, and studes must physically attend a private college licensed to offer the curriculum of an affiliated public college.
Graduates of master's courses and other short-term master's degree programs will be eligible to apply for a work permit for 3 years after graduation. This post-graduation work permit will not be limited to the duration of one's study program, and master's graduates will not be faced with limiting the time to gain work experience and transfer to permane residence.
In the future, freelance work permits will only be available to spouses of iernational studes at Master's and Ph.D. Spouses of iernational studes in other degrees will not be eligible. These new changes are iroduced as a compleme to rece reforms to Canada's iernational stude program and are aimed at ensuring that studes are provided with the financial support and resources necessary for a positive academic experience, as well as balancing the number of incoming studes and reducing pressures on housing and health care.
